You need a side quest

0:03 Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's tip is that if you are looking for more fun and creativity in your life, consider a side quest. A side quest is an optional mission in a video game. It is something that is not required to complete the game.

0:33 but it lets you earn extra powers and adds texture to the main storyline. Now, I am not a gamer. This is not a gaming podcast. But I do like the idea of side quests, because metaphorical side quests can be great too. They can enhance your life, just as video game side quests enhance your experience of the game.

0:59 You may have heard about metaphorical side quests lately on social media and podcasts like Life Kit, where the idea was recently featured. Because it's a fun topic. I think if you think about it, you could come up with all sorts of side quests that might be appealing to you. For instance, have you been intending to learn Spanish for years and feel like now is the time to actually do it? Do you want to visit all 50 states? Or...

1:29 See a baseball game in a certain number of the major league parks. Do you want to write your memoir? Are you curious about origami? One of these pursuits could become your side quest. My dream of writing seasonal sonnets has become a years-long side quest of writing a sonnet every week. If you don't know what your side quest might be, think about what you enjoyed as a kid or as a young adult. Are there any former passions you'd like to return to? If you dreamed of having a dollhouse as a kid, this could be your moment to set up some miniature scenes. If you performed in every school play at high school, you could try community theater, or perhaps you could go on a side quest of reading through all the dramatic works of Shakespeare. Another approach

2:21 is to borrow a side quest from somebody else. In other words, do what a friend or relative enjoys. If your sister loves doing 1000-piece puzzles, maybe you will too. When you borrow a side quest from someone you're close to, you may be especially likely to enjoy it, since presumably one of the reasons you are close is that you and they have a lot in common. Practically speaking, you may also be able to use their gear to try out the experience of this side quest. If your sister likes 1000-piece puzzles, I am sure She has a lot of them sitting around. And those puzzles could jumpstart your own side quest experience. Something to keep in mind. Side quests don't need to be about mastery or conventional achievement.

3:15 A side quest can be successful even if it's not particularly productive and even if you don't become especially skilled. You can draw or cross-stitch or take ballroom dancing lessons. just for fun. The recent Life Kit episode on SideQuest quotes ethnomusicologist Kira Gaunt, who said, adults spend so much time in environments where they're trying to control the outcome.

3:42 That play, as a practice, becomes about not knowing, not having an attachment to what the outcome is. She went on to say, learning begins with inquiry. In fact, the word quest comes from the root question or inquiry. So it's not about answers. It's about the journey. That said, while a side quest doesn't need to be about mastery or outcomes, the focus and sustained interest you bring to a side quest can make it quite satisfying as a hobby.

4:17 You aren't using your leisure time just to see what is on Netflix. You are learning things along the way. And just like a well-constructed side quest, you may be earning extra points or skills for the main game. Or, as we think of it in the real world, ways to think about your core work. Gaunt said, I think a side quest, just like in the gaming world, really makes the main quest stronger. It gives it more nuance.

4:48 It gives it some new dimension. Or it actually brings out a facet of you that you convinced yourself. you couldn't do. So if you feel like you'd like to add variety to your life, try a side quest. You may find a new sense of perspective and have a lot of fun at the same time. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening. And here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

5:29 If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at laura at lauravandercam.com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Thank you.